Final_Project_Business_Portfolio_Presentation

SWOT Analysis Axia College of the University of Phoenix Strengths Does the venture have experienced creative leaders and researchers' The founder of Market Camp, Paul Berry earned a MBA from the University of Oregon; and has experience in market research. Does it have a well-developed and researched business model' The research involved in the business model was accurate because the owner examined how many companies in Mexico City uses internet access; how many actual internet connections are available in Mexico and the growth per month of internet access available in Mexico City, Mexico. Mr. Berry understands the number of households and Businesses in Mexico that currently subscribe to the internet is low, compared to that of the United States. However, internet subscribers are growing moderately. Does it have a well-designed product that better satisfies customers’ needs' An internet-based product will open various markets to international businesses, which in turn will increase profits for all business that choose to use MarketCamp. Are market segments accurately targeted' A specific market segment is not definite in the MarketCamp business plan. MarketCamp seems to target the entire business community of Mexico City as the primary market. Does its personnel have good marketing skills and the product, the right marketing mix' The personnel of MarketCamp are part-time contractors; one of which, has experience in sales and management; the second contractor has experience in design and is proficient if the web. Does it have an efficient operations and materials management system' At this time, MarketCamp does not have adequate operations or a management system on place as Paul Berry is the sole-proprietor and the only person that knows how his business should be operated. Are the distribution channels chosen and the sales force trained' The business plan for MarketCamp does not specify whether its personnel are trained in the core premise of the business. The business plan does however; state the founder will assume all roles of the business while based in his apartment until he is able to hire additional staff. Does it have human resource competencies in recruitment and compensation areas' The owner, Paul Berry, will handle the human resource competencies; additionally, Mr. Berry does have a contractual system in place as he has two current independent contractors on staff part-time. Does it have an appropriate leadership and management style' The style of leadership was not divulged in this business plan. Does it have a well-designed organizational structure and culture' The structure of the organization is well thought out, Mr. Berry is aware of what needs to be done as the company grows. Mr. Berry has committed to renting office space after the sixth month of operations and the company has seen financial growth; furthermore, Mr. Berry is aware of personnel growth as the company grows. Does it have sufficient capital in reserve to make and sell the product for six months to a year' Yes, MarketCamp has sufficient reserves of $20,000 to maintain the business for a minimum of one year as contract labor is at least of $2000 - $4000 per month depending on necessitate. Weakness Does the venture have a poorly thought-out business model' I would be hard-pressed to agree with the market segment, simply because Mexico is not as adept as United States business owners are, when it comes to the internet. MarketCamp specifically stated Mexico is approximately four to five years behind the United States regarding internet usage even though MarketCamp is basing its entire business model on the fact that Mexico’s business owners will use the internet to grow their businesses. Have customer needs been defined inaccurately and market segments incorrectly identified' I would be hard-pressed to agree with the market segment, simply because there is not a defined market except the entire business community of Mexico. MarketCamp spoke only to the moderate growth of internet connectivity as a basis of potential clientele. Does the venture have an inappropriate or poorly designed marketing plan and mix' Although there is not a targeted audience other than the entire business community of Mexico as potential clients of MarketCamp, It is my belief that the business plan is poorly designed because there were 58,000 internet clients in 2002 in a population of 8.6 million residents in Mexico City in 2000 or Distrito Federal according to Mexico’s city population website. (Mexico - Ciudad de México : Boroughs, 2009) Are operations and materials management systems not developed or in place' According to the literature, MarketCamp does not have operations materials or management systems in place other than the owner, Paul Berry. Is the choice of distribution channels poor' In my opinion, the choice or internet marketing is uncertain for this market because of the scarcity of the internet compared to the population of Mexico City in 2002. Is the sales force training program poorly designed' According to the Business Plan, there is no sales-force training plan in place. Are human resources and competencies poor' In my opinion, the human resources and competencies are handled by the owner, Paul Berry. Do managers have an inappropriate leadership style' A leadership style was not defined in the business plan, as Mr. Berry will assume all responsibilities until the company grows. Does the venture have a poorly thought out organizational structure and culture' I am undecided as to an organizational structure, purely because this is a start-up business run out of the owner’s apartment with two part-time independent contractors on staff. Is there insufficient capital to keep the business in operation for six months to a year' The owner has sufficient capital to keep the business in operation for a minimum of six months to a year because the owner secured a $20,000 loan to start the business. Opportunities Is customer demand in the targeted market segments increasing' According to the business plan, internet connectivity is increasing; therefore, the market is bound to increase. Further, if the business owners of Mexico City were looking to expand their products internationally, it would be a great investment to secure MarketCamp as their marketing company. Can the existing product range be widened to target new market segments' Since the MarketCamp views their primary market as Mexico City and encompasses the entire business community thereof, I would be inclined to believe that Mr. Berry and his associates would be able to broaden its services to other cities however, the services should be offered in Spanish, as it is the country’s language. Can the company’s R&D skills be used to create new and improved products' Yes, Mr. Berry may be able to expand on the services offered online. Are there opportunities to develop new distribution channels and be more responsive to customers' Mr. Berry stated he would open an office in six months, as the business develops which may increase distribution channels in that he would be able to meet with clients at his place of business and become more reputable. Will it be possible to improve employees’ value-creation skills to increase efficiency, lower costs, and improve product quality' Improvements of employee value-creation skills are not a factor at this time because Mr. Berry is the only one responsible for services at this time. Are there opportunities to enter new product markets or expand globally' Yes, there are several opportunities to enter new product markets as well as expand globally because MarketCamp is a business-to-business internet based company. The only downfall I see is a language barrier. Threats Has the venture failed to anticipate the reactions of competitors' No, the owner of MarketCamp has not anticipated competitors because Mr. Berry stated,” Competition is not the most important factor at this time, there is plenty of need and potential customers out there”. (Marketing Consulting Business Plan, 2009). What Mr. Berry has failed to realize is that he does not speak Spanish and he is relying on his part-time sales associate to close the deal. Are changes in customer tastes occurring rapidly' There are several e-business marketing firms available online and MarketCamp may need to alter its pricing to stay competitive. Are new or substitute products from competitors under development' According to the business plan, competition in this particular market is not a factor. Is competition in the industry increasing' There are several e-business marketing firms available online and MarketCamp may need to alter its pricing to stay competitive. Are changes in demographic factors affecting customer tastes' No, with the internet quickly catching on in Mexico City, the business demographic should use the internet as an effective marketing tool. Is the market experiencing changes in economic and global factors such as the rise of low-cost competitors' There are several e-business marketing firms available online and MarketCamp may need to alter its pricing to stay competitive. How quickly will rivals be able to develop competing products' It is fairly straightforward to start and maintain an internet based marketing company; it would be important that the entrepreneur be able to speak the language of the demographic he/she focuses on. Are there ways competitors can reduce the cost of value-creating functional activities chosen by the venture' By operating the business from his apartment, Mr. Berry is operating his business at home; the business will be financially viable if in fact his business grows at the rate he predicts. References Marketing Consulting Business Plan. (2009). Retrieved March 28, 2009, from B Plans: http://www.bplans.com/marketing_consulting_business_plan/services_fc.cfm Mexico - Ciudad de México : Boroughs. (2009). Retrieved March 29, 2009, from City Population: http://www.citypopulation.de/Mexico-MexicoCity.html